parenthood – Page 2 – hellomelissa.net

So, where did the last few weeks go? I can’t believe July is more than half-over. We’ve been busy in the Mitchell household, but not uncomfortably so. We all adjusted to my being back at work without any major issues. I was amazed at how while lots had changed at the office while I was gone, it ultimately is “same stuff, different day”. Parenthood has really put my work life into perspective. It’s a lot easier to leave the worries and petty office dramas at the office when there is a small person at home who picks up on your bad moods and reflects them back at you. I’d rather have a happy baby during the precious few hours I get to spend with her between my arrival home and her bed time. It’s a lot easier to come home happy though – I really look forward to seeing Sean and Flora on the deck playing outside when I walk up the driveway or watching the two of them interact while Flora eats her dinner, or whatever they’re doing when I come home. I think Sean is really enjoying his time at home with her, and I hope that he will gain some of the same perspective I did when I returned to work. I feel kind of bad actually that I wasn’t able to compartmentalize a little better when it was just Sean and I. It’s not like I was a work-obsessed corporate zombie before Flora was born, but I spent a lot more time worrying about work-related stuff than I do now.

In other news, Flora has moved up from her infant car seat to a (much bigger) toddler/child car seat. Not because of her weight (her weigh-in at the doctor yesterday put her at 19 pounds, 12 ounces), but because she was getting too tall for the seat and it looked like it was getting uncomfortable. So we picked up a new seat that will sit both rear-facing and forward-facing (see this link on rear facing car seats) and with some outside help, got it installed into our car. I’ve been calling her new seat “the command centre” because it is huge (since she’ll be able to use it well into her toddler years) and looks kind of like an office chair for your car, complete with cup holder. Flora looks more comfortable in this seat and the buckles are easier to work with so she gets strapped in faster.

What else has happened around here? We’ve spent several weekends and a few days around Canada Day visiting family and friends. Flora got to have her first boat ride and dip into Lake Ontario courtesy of her Grandma Faye and Grampy Doug. I don’t think she was too impressed with her lifejacket, but she did enjoy the water, sand and boat. Next up will be swimming at Auntie Kyla’s!

I cannot believe that this child is turning one in one month and two weeks time! This really was the Fastest. Year. Ever.

Flora turned six months old yesterday! Watching a baby grow really lets a person see how quickly time can pass. September feels like a lifetime ago, yet the time has gone so quickly. I think Sean and I have adjusted to parenthood pretty well. We have our little routines and rituals and we all get along most of the time. I think we’re a happy little family. We’ve been lucky that Flora has been an easy baby – no colic, naps well most of the time and gives us lots of smiles. The smiles make me think we’re doing something right.

Speaking of smiles, she is starting to ham it up for the camera now, getting excited and smiling instead of just making WTF faces. I got a few great smiley pictures of her yesterday, where I normally only get one where she is in halfway between smiling and serious. It’s not a toothy grin yet though – Flora doesn’t have any teeth, but she is chewing, drooling and sucking on her hands all the time, so teeth are probably imminent. However, my mum tells me that I didn’t have any teeth until I was over a year old, so Flora’s teeth could take their time too. As long as I don’t discover her tooth by receiving a bite on the boob, I’ll be happy.

I’m still breastfeeding, but Flora started on cereal almost two weeks ago. She is slurping it up like a champ, and I plan to start introducing vegetables by the end of next week. I’m amazed – and proud – that breastfeeding went so well for us. She was exclusively breastfed until we started cereal. When I was pregnant, I had hoped to nurse for about six months. Now I plan to do it for as long as I am able and she is interested. I do go back to work in mid-June though, so that may put a kink in my supply. I don’t want to pump at the office. I’m not embarrassed to do it, but I don’t think I’ll be able to take enough time to pump enough milk to make it worth my time. By that point (she’ll be nine months old), she’ll be eating lots of solids and if I can nurse in the morning and at night, I think we can make it work. If I have to supplement with formula during the day, that’s what I’ll do, but I do admit that I will be disappointed – I like her being an all-booby baby. It astounds me that I was able to provide her the nourishment and nutrition she needed to more than double her birth weight in under six months. Now, if she could only stop taking that nourishment and nutrition at 3AM, we’d be all set.

Flora’s been trying to sit up for a couple weeks now. If we pull her up by her hands and position her, she can hold it on her own for about 5-10 seconds before she tips over. I’m looking forward to when she can finally sit on her own because she’s got some toys that she’d enjoy a lot more sitting up.

She’s very observant and doesn’t miss a trick. She’s starting to get chatty – mostly “ba”, vowel sounds and the occasional “mah, mah MAH!” when she is frustrated. She also continues to blow lots of raspberries and has varied up her technique to include raspberries that sound like either purring or farts. (My kid makes fart jokes already! Awesome!) She’s not quite laughing yet, but she makes noises and smiles at laugh-inducing moments so I think she is really trying.

She’s starting to stay awake when we go out in the stroller so it will be nice when I visit both my and Sean’s offices. The last time I visited, she slept through the entire thing and no one saw her eyes. We’re looking forward to visiting both places when it warms up a bit.

I may be a little biased, but Flora seems to be shaping up into a good kid. I think we’re going to keep her.

I can hear her waking up from her morning nap so I will leave you with a video I made yesterday to commemorate her six-month half-birthday.

Flora is six months old today! from Melissa Price-Mitchell on Vimeo.

I like to read